Finally got a good shot on a deer after some lessons learned this season. Long story short I have had two good encounters with some deer and either wasn't patient enough or just straight up missed.
Well I went to a friends place last week to do some hunting and found myself in a tree stand morning sit with deer moving in a little after 7am. I told myself I wasn't shooting anything unless everything was perfect: deer not alert, preferably feeding head away, and not moving. Well what a morning. I had 7 deer within range and never felt good about it so I watched them all walk off. I had tension on the string once, but had too many eyes to deceive.
The next day I hunted both am and pm and didn't see any movement. With only 4 days to hunt a little pressure started to set in and I questioned my first am sit a few times, but I knew it was the right thing.
That next morning I got setup well before sunup and tightened my harness and laid my head against the tree to rest my eyes... Shooting light slowly came. I heard that familiar stick break sound and slowly stood up. I looked to my right and saw a deer moving in my direction. He fed into range and I watched him feed at 14 yards for about 20 minutes. He finally made it to 8 yards, motionless, feeding, and quartering away. I drew my bow, anchored in and released. My 175gr Swampshark went through her like hot knife through butter and she headed behind me and down the hill. I heard her crash, but knew after the shot she was not making it far. Man what a sight. Watching an arrow go where you want it is so satisfying.
Hunting with trad gear has taught me to be much more patient and to setup my stands with much more attention to detail. I only have a few more days to hunt this entire season, so I am super thankful for the encounter. Thanks for reading!
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Topic: Patience Paid Off (Read 2202 times)
